Digital Press Beefs up Business in Boulder

Sometimes, when you add a digital press, work just walks in off the street.

Like the 2,700 newsletters the geology department sent to Imaging Services one day at the University of Colorado at Boulder.

“They heard we got some new color press, and they just said, ‘Oh, we’ve been sending this out. Would you try to do it?’” says Al Goranson, operations manager.

That color press is an HP Indigo 3050, which arrived at the shop in June. Since then it’s opened a few doors for the in-plant.

“There’s just no way we could have even touched that [job] with two-color offset or with our digital capabilities before,” remarks Goranson.

The variable data printing possibilities alone promise a new crop of future business.

“We’re actually doing football recruiting work now that we were not getting at all,” he says. This includes personalized letters and cards. The in-plant is in discussion with Administration about eventually handling some of its variable data printing as well.

Imaging Services, which has nine full-time employees and five part-time student workers in its main facility, had initially considered adding a direct imaging offset press and a lower-level color device, but went with an HP Indigo in part due to customer demands. Also, other digital presses, Goranson says, could not as easily match the PMS colors needed by customers.

The HP Indigo is allowing the in-plant to revamp its pressroom. A Solna press has been removed and a two-color Ryobi is on its way out, leaving just a Multi and an A.B. Dick for envelopes. The shop recently purchased a Xanté Impressia plate-setter and is removing its imagesetter and stripping area.

“[We’re] just trying to go completely digital as much as possible,” Goranson says. And the new HP Indigo is ensuring that the shop stays busy during the changeover.